Atlas 5 rocket rolled out to launch pad

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket is hauled out to the pad this morning, riding the rails from its assembly building to Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 for the final day-and-a-half of preparations to fly the Defense Department's latest advanced satellite for secure communications.

Tomorrow's ascent with the U.S. Air Force's Advanced Extremely High Frequency 2 satellite will continue constructing a new space-based network for high-speed, protected communications and ultimately replacing the military's aging Milstar spacecraft fleet.